I've hijacked Wade's "Daytime T.V." thread enough so I thought I'd just start a new one.

I know that Wade has a nice S&W Model 28 coming and no 2400 powder in his area. Sure wish I could send him some.
I have 3 loads I use the most:
14 grains 2400 in a 357 case with a 357446 or 358156 bullet.
6 grains Unique in a .357 case with a 357446 bullet.
And one of my very favorite loads is 12 grains 2400 in a .38 special case with the 357446.
When I load a heavy load with Unique I get lead in my barrel, when I use 2400 I don't!

Mr. Keith and I corresponded many years ago and he told me that Unique burned hotter than 2400 and was fine up to a point then 2400 should be used to help prevent leading.
I have no idea what the burn temperature of the two powders are, just knew that I wasn't smart enough to argue with Elmer.

Wade, if I could figure out how to get some 2400 down there....but I don't want to upset the postal people.

I gave up on 2400. It's a myth from the past age. So I turned to exploring outside the Hercules/Aliant
powders (but Herco and Blue Dot do well). Now using
Universal and TiteGroup. Have enough Unique still too.
But truth be known, I do just dandy with BP or APP.

That 6gr Unique load has been favored since the mid 40's
and is just about the smoothest with the 357446 bullet.
It's a cloverleaf load at 50 meters with my M92 Rossi.
Actually they cataloge it as a R92. My using the M92 is
force of habit I suppose.

Since my levergun is a .357Mag/.38Spl, there are always
magnum loads about for it. Soon I'll be able to share 'em
with the M28 in a couple months. And about every
other day I'll fire up the pot and cast about 50 or so of
the famous 357446 in anticipation. Back when I was
toten a 28 that bullet was pure magic! Rex knows what I'm
talkin' about.

__________________"I am not politically correct. I don't apologise for being American. I stand by my country and have no use for anyone who does not."

Well Universal does pretty good in the 357Mag. And is a
good choice for warm loads in the 44Mag as well.
Blue Dot is great. Cleaner than 2400 ever was and almost,
just almost as powerful as 2400. Thinking back to when
the extinct 2400 was still on this earth, it really was
some nasty stuff. Unburnt powder and filthy when shot.
Also position sensitivity was present in large cases. Had
a few detonation incidents in a 45-70.
So actually today I don't miss it at all.

Herco bulks up wonderfully and just around 7.5gr in a 357
case and a 158gr~160gr cast round and is almost as fast
as 2400. With Blue Dot it's even in velocity as 2400 and
slightly less pressure.
Nope, don't miss 2400 a bit!

__________________"I am not politically correct. I don't apologise for being American. I stand by my country and have no use for anyone who does not."

There is no HEAVY load powder for 20ga.
loads that even comes close to what 2400
combined with a Fed-209A primer can do and
still stay within pressure limits.

So nowdays what 2400 that is still in my
back stock and the very rare can I can
manage to grab is dedicated to that use
alone. Almost everything else that I used
to use 2400 for I've found reasonable
substitutes.

For 357-mag I've mainly gonna to using
INR-4227 because I can usually get some of
it at a couple local shops and it works
well with my favorite bullet which is a
massive 210gr. flat nosed thumper.

Edited by turbo1889 on June 02 2018 at 11:47am

__________________What part of, "the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be INFRINGED" don't you understand ?!?!?

To the most serious charge of "ARMING WOMEN" I plead guilty on multiple counts.

"Steel" powder works reasonably well. You won't find
any published data for it in the 357 or hardly any
metallic cartridge since it is specifically designed
for steel shot loads in 10ga. and 12ga. but I bought
so much of it and had so much of it around my place
(It is an excellent slug load powder for the 12ga. and
casting, loading, and shooting shotgun slugs makes up
a large portion of my personal shooting sports.) That
I ended up developing loads for it. It works well for
lower pressure loads staying below about 22-Kpsi peak
pressure levels but it starts to do weird things if
you push above that, you also HAVE to use a scale and
do weighed charges with it because it is so coarse
that it meters like wood chips only smaller size
clumping and bridging.

Edited by turbo1889 on June 03 2018 at 9:49pm

__________________What part of, "the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be INFRINGED" don't you understand ?!?!?

To the most serious charge of "ARMING WOMEN" I plead guilty on multiple counts.

Just got the Western Powder Guide which I will be
researching ......
BUT I have enough Hercules powders that I don't foresee not
using them anytime in the near future......
Same with Hodgdon rifle powders.......
Looks like they will outlast me

All the take of not being able to find 2400 got me to thinking I need to buy some more so yesterday we went and bought another pound I now have 2 1/2 pounds that should take care of my needs. I load 11.9gr with my cast 158gr bullet shoots great to point of aim at 25 yards i like it. Randy

I bought a couple of jugs of WC-820 surplus powder a few years ago that was pull down powder from stored .30 carbine. It is the same as AA#9 and this lot was almost exactly the same speed as my modern AA#9 in my comparison tests. I plan on using this powder mostly in the .357 as well as much of my .44 mag. loads. I think it will replace the 2400 just fine, although I still have several pounds of the 2400.

I think the most accurate load that I ever worked up in a .357 mag. was for my friends 6" GP-100. I used 158gr. Hornady XTP and a max charge of Blue Dot. It actually was a one-holer at 25 yards, but it was very hot. Any lesser charge of the Blue Dot would widen the groups a whole bunch.

I did not like Blue Dot in my 4" S&W 66 nor my 6 1/2" Blackhawk. They never found a sweet spot before it got way too hot. Even in my .44 mag. I decided that it was just a bit too touchy for me. Only got accurate at the upper edge of magnum pressures. Certainly not a powder that I wanted to shoot a lot and then only in very stout revolvers.

Lil'Gun is also a very good replacement for 2400. It give s better velocity for the same pressure as 2400 in most rounds that I have tried it in. It does produce a lot of heat, but I never rapid fire. Works wonders in the .22 Hornet or K-Hornet also.

Edited by Ham Gunner on June 06 2018 at 4:08pm

__________________73 de n0ubx Rick - NRA BENEFACTOR LIFE MEMBER/VFW LIFE MEMBER - A government big enough to GIVE you
everything you want, is strong enough to TAKE everything you have. - Thomas Jefferson

Used many different loads some real hot loads when i first started reloading and have tried most of the powders. but this is fun to shoot light recoil and my revolver likes it. My wife and I shoot just about every day so the routine is go out back and shoot 3 cylinders each then go in and load em up for tomorrow. Randy

The .357 is still a good choice for almost everything you need a hand gun for.

The original loadings that produced 1500 fps+ with a 158 grn SWC, were also running in the 45K pressure range.

With the new powders you can duplicate the performance of those original loads with a lot less pressure.

For the folks that hunt with hand guns, there are requirements in some states that a handgun used for big game hunting has to produce 500 ft/# at 100 yards.

Using the 358429 bullet, that Lyman lists as having a .286 ballistic coefficient, at 170 grains, loaded to 1350 fps. is still over 500 ft/# at 100 yards, and hits harder at 500 yards than the standard 9mm at the muzzle.

AND has only a few foot# less than the .44 mag at 500 yards.

Our first magnum is still a contender, it is considerably easier to shoot than the big .45s, .454-.460s.

John, I've never used Lil'1gun. Do you use mag or standard primers with it? Do you like it better than H-110? I do use a lot of Unique at 6 grains and have liked 14 grains 2400 but am not above trying something better,

I'm a big believer in 2400, have been since I got my first .44. Tried
it in .357 and I was sold, got rid of H110.

I shoot 13.5 gr with the 358421 LSWC, haven't found anything as
good yet though I'm sure there is. I remember Paul being a user of
IMR powders and swore they were great. I've been so happy with
the performance of 2400 I haven't even thought about trying any
other powder.

I used Unique for mid range loads but have switched to Universal. I
have so much ammo stock piled in .357 that I'll be shooting it for
years to come without trying other powders.

Edited by joed on June 07 2018 at 2:57pm

__________________The 6 gun was once as common as the cellphone is today, and just as annoying when it went off in the theater.

I'm startin' hoardin' now. Gonna beat the rush before
y'all figure the political atmosphere has turn the wrong
shade and start clearing out the gunstores. But I ain't
a'gonna tell ya what powders I'm grabbin' up! Dat's my
secret. Then y'all can have all the oddball powder
ya want! Ha!

That, by the way, is known as "Cowboy Logic".

Edited by Old Ranger on June 07 2018 at 4:13pm

__________________"I am not politically correct. I don't apologise for being American. I stand by my country and have no use for anyone who does not."

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